J O N A 
of Ifrael; but their camp was forced, their troops routed, 
and themfelves killed. The news being brought to Da¬ 
vid, he mourned for a year, and conipofed a funeral fong 
to their honour, wherein he evidenced his tendernefs to¬ 
wards his friend Jonathan 5 and afterwards ihovved the 
molt affectionate kindnefs to Mephibolheth his fon. See 
1 Sam. xix. xx. 2 Sam. i. ix. 
JON'ATHAN, Johan'an, or John, high-prieft of the 
Jews, the fon of Jehoiada, and father of Jeddoa or Jaddus, 
celebrated in the time of Alexander the Great. He lived 
under Ezra and Nehemiah. Jofephus, and after him Eu- 
febius and St. Jerome, call him John inftead of Jonathan, 
and fay that he lived in the reign of Artaxerxes. Jofe¬ 
phus relates a particular which calls a blemilh upon the 
memory of Jonathan. Jolhua or Jefus his brother was fo 
much in the favour of Bagofes, governor of Syria and 
Phoenicia under the king of Perfia, that he obtained for 
him the office of high-prieft, to the exclufion of his bro¬ 
ther Jonathan, who was then poffeffed of it, and had en¬ 
joyed it many years. Jefus came to Jerufalem to take pof- 
feffion of his new dignity, and to divelt his brother of it. 
But, he refufing to fubmit to the orders of Bagofes, a 
great conteft arofe, and Jonathan killed his brother in the 
inner court of the temple. This aClion, in itfelf very 
criminal, was ftill more fo by reafon of the profanation of 
the holy place where it was committed. Bagofes, being 
informed of it, came with great indignation to Jeru¬ 
falem, defigning to take cognizance of the murder. He 
attempted to go into the temple, in order to obferve the 
fpot where this fadt was committed ; but he was denied 
admiffion, as being a gentile and a profane perfon. How ! 
faid he, am I then more polluted than a dead body, or 
than a murderer! And at the fame time, being tranf- 
ported with anger, he forced his way into the temple, not- 
withftanding the oppofition of the priefts, examined into 
the fa ft, and laid a fine upon the temple, which he ordered 
to be paid by the priefts out of the money belonging to 
the treafury. The fine was fifty drachmas for every 
lamb of the continual facrifice which was offered every 
morning and evening, i. e. two lambs a-day. This line 
was paid till the death of Artaxerxes j when, revolutions 
happening, and anew governor being appointed, it was no 
longer exafted. 
JON'ATHAN MACCABE'US, an eminent leader and 
high-prieft of the Jews, fucceeded to the command of his 
nation on the death of his brother Judas, B. C. 161. The 
Jews were at that time hard preffed by Bacchides, the Sy¬ 
rian general, who made feveral attempts to furprife Jona¬ 
than, and at length befieged him in Bethlagan, a fortrefs 
in the defert of Jericho; but the vigorous conduft of that 
general obliged him to raife the liege, and Bacchides 
ihortly after made peace with him. Jonathan then affumed 
the office of judge of the Jews, and made various reforms 
in the civil and ecclefiaftical adminillration. When the 
competition for the Syrian throne arofe between Deme¬ 
trius Soter and Alexander Balas, Jonathan was courted by 
both parties; and, the latter inverting him with the high- 
priefthood, B. C. 152, Jonathan engaged in his fervice. 
The fuffrages of the Jewifh nation confirmed him in his new 
dignity. After the death of Demetrius, when Apollonius 
governor of Ccelofyria declared in favour of his fon, young 
Demetrius, Jonathan, joined by his brother Simon, gave 
him a defeat, and, purfuing the fugitives to Azotus, burnt 
a number of them in the temple of Dagon. When De¬ 
metrius Nicanor was placed on the Syrian throne by Pto¬ 
lemy Philometor, Jonathan was fuccefsful in his attempts 
to gain his favour, and obtained from him great advan¬ 
tages for his nation. In the revolt of Antioch, Jonathan 
shifted the king with a fuccour of three thouland Jews, 
who were very inftrumental in the terrible revenge which 
Demetrius took of that city. Antiochus, the fon of Alex¬ 
ander Balas, having afterwards expelled Demetrius from 
his kingdom, found it for his interell to ingratiate himfelf 
with the Jews, and eafily perfuaded Jonathan to defert his 
THAN. 247 
former ally, who had broken the conditions ftipulated in 
favour of the Jewifh nation. He performed fome fignal 
fervices to the new king, and, with the affiftance of his 
brother Simon, took poffeffion of feveral towns. Still keep¬ 
ing in view the liberty and independence of his nation, 
he fent an embaffy to renew the alliance with Rome, and 
alfo with the Spartans and other Greek dates. At length, 
Tryphon, who had engaged in a defign of dethroning 
young Antiochus, having decoyed Jonathan into the city 
of Ptolemais, caufed all his effort to be maffacred, and 
himfelf to be apprehended, and, foon after, put to death, 
B. C. 144.. Jonathan had with great wildom and fuccefs 
governed the Jewifh ftate for feventeen years. 
JON'ATHAN BEN UZZI'EL, or the fon of Uzziel, au¬ 
thor of aTurgum, or Chaldee Paraphrafe, of the five books 
of Mofes, and another of Jolhua, Judges, the books of 
Samuel, Kings, Ifaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve 
minor prophets ; i. e. all the Old Teftament except the 
Hagiographa. The Jews beftow high commendation upon 
Jonathan ; they believe he lived in the time of Haggai, 
Zechariah, and Malachi, foon after the return from the 
captivity; and that he received from them the oral law or 
tradition. They add, that he was the firft and moft ex¬ 
cellent difciple of Hillel, the famous rabbi, who lived a 
little before the coming of our Saviour, in the reign of 
Herod the Great. But, if Jonathan had feen Haggai, Ze¬ 
chariah, and Malachi, and had alfo been HillePs difciple, 
he mull have lived to the age of five hundred years, which 
is incredible. The Jews are never weary of exalting the 
merit of Jonathan the fon of Uzziel. They equal him to 
Mofes; and relate, that, while he was employed about his 
paraphrafe, God in a vifible manner protected him ; and,- 
to prevent any thing from diverting his application, if a 
fly came and fat on the paper, or a bird flew over his head, 
they were immediately confumed by fire from heaven, 
without his being hurt by it, or any thing about him; that, 
intending to compofe a Targum on the Hagiographa, as he 
had done upon the Law and the Prophets, he was diverted 
from this defign by a voice from heaven, which told him 
that the end of the Meffiah was therein determined. This 
ftory, w’hether true or falfe, (but rather falfe than true,) 
has occafioned fome Chriftians to take ad vantage of thiscon- 
feffion, and maintain againft the Jews that the end of the 
Meffiah was clearly foretold in the prophet Daniel, whom 
the Hebrews place among the Hagiographa; and, fince 
thefe difputes, the modern Jews have taken the liberty to 
alter this paffage, left fuch an acknowledgment fbould be a 
prejudice to them. Of the two Targums attributed to 
Jonathan the fon of Uzziel, it appears that he compofed 
only that on the firft and laft prophets. The Jews call 
Jofltua, Judges, Samuel, and the Kings, the firft prophets ; 
and Ifaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve minor pro¬ 
phets, the laft prophets. The Targutn or paraphrafe on 
thefe books comes near the ftyle of Onkelos, which is 
efteemed the beft of all; but, whereas the Targum of On¬ 
kelos is an exaft and literal verfion, Jonathan takes the 
liberty of paraphraling, enlarging, and adding, fometimes 
a glols, fometimes a ftory, which do no great credit to 
the work. What he has done on the laft prophets is ftill 
lefs perfeft, and lefs literal, than the reft. The Targum 
on the Law which is attributed to him is very different 
from the firft, both as to llyle and method ; being more 
fluffed with fables, glolfes, long explanations, and vain 
additions, than the Targum on the Prophets, which with¬ 
out doubt is Jonathan’s. Befides, in this Targum on the 
Law, mention is made of feveral things not as yet exift- 
ing, or at leaft not under the names there given to them;, 
for inftance, the fix orders, or books of Mifhna, which 
were not written till long after his time ; and the names 
of Conftantinople and Lombardy, which are ftill more 
modern. We cannot tell who is the real author of this laft 
Targum; it continued a long time unknown even to the 
Jews; they had no notice of there being fuch a book till 
it was publilhed at Venice about a hundred and fifty years 
ago. 
